Haris Seedat

Haris is on an Apprenticeship with TfL and says his decision not to go to university when he left College is one he will never regret.

He studied at Havering Sixth Form from 2015 to 2017 having previously been a Sanders School pupil. While at College, he achieved a Distinction* in the Science BTEC Subsidiary Diploma and two B grades in A Level Geography and Applied ICT – grades that would have definitely been accepted at university.

But Haris decided to take up TfL’s offer of a place on their General Management Apprenticeship scheme instead. He is now in his second year of the busy and varied job where he is also studying for a BA (Hons) in Business Management.

He said: “I didn’t want to go to uni just for the sake of it so I applied for the TfL Apprenticeship scheme and it’s a decision I don’t regret. It made more sense to me that instead of leaving university in three years’ time with a large debt and no work experience, I am earning money now and learning at the same time – and I will also have a degree in four years’ time.”

The nature of the job means that no day is the same – one week he could be working on the ground dealing with customer problems at Liverpool Street Station and the next he could be shadowing the Emergency Response Unit for buses. He likes the fact that he is getting many opportunities to develop his skills.

But he adds: “It’s not easy, you do have to be prepared to work hard, and you need good time management to study for a degree and work at the same time.”

When he completes his Apprenticeship, he is hoping to progress to a permanent management role within TfL.